Land sale: County council determined to sell

With reference to the sale of County Council land at Pleasant Place, Hersham — the Conservative councillor for Hersham South stated in last week’s News & Mail that I said that the school was offered the land but did not want it.

At a meeting of the local Elmbridge Committee, I suggested that the land now occupied by gypsies should become part of the school grounds and not be sold.

The chairman of the committee at that time, county councillor Ian Lake (the same party as Cllr Sheldon) said the school had been offered the land but did not want it. I do believe (although I may be wrong) that the Hersham county councillor, Margaret Hicks, was present when this important item came up.

It was clear that the county was determined to sell the land to raise as much money as it could to pay for the new white elephant of a new county hall at Woking.

Thanks to the county and the Tory councillors, Hersham residents now have to put up with an illegal gypsy site and Elmbridge Council has to sort out the mess.

Knowing that I was a member of the Cabinet and a fellow Hersham councillor, why did not John Sheldon raise the matter with me and I could have put it on the Cabinet agenda? He knew how important it was, or did he just want to play politics?

Without debate, I cannot say what the decision of the Cabinet would have been.

However, it was up to the Tory councillors for Hersham South, working through their county councillor, to stop the land being sold in the first place; after all, it is the Tories who control the county council, not the Residents’ group.

Surrey County Council has acted poorly on this matter and I suggest that John Sheldon directs his anger in its direction instead of Elmbridge.